Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 856: The World of Lies (4)

The sky suddenly roared, and for no apparent reason, a bolt of lightning flashed across the night sky. The winding, erratic lightning seemed to have no trajectory, yet it had a destination—the statue on Mount Christ.

With open arms and a slightly bowed head, the statue looked down from above, seemingly declaring: “God loves all people.” However, the lightning struck it, landing directly on the statue. In fact, back in 2014, a similar event had occurred when lightning damaged the statue, and it had to be repaired afterward.

So, it wasn't unimaginable for the statue to be struck again—at least, since it was late at night and no tourists were present, there would be no casualties. However, nearby, a sudden gale rose, and the roar of the lightning strike woke up the statue’s caretaker from his sleep. He hurriedly put on his shoes and ran towards the statue. If any damage had been done by the lightning, he needed to report it for repairs as soon as possible.

There was still some distance to the statue, and although the caretaker rushed over, he didn't arrive at the scene immediately. As a result, he missed something.

In front of the statue, between the outstretched arms, the lightning suddenly converged, forming a glowing, electric sphere. Inside the sphere, something seemed to be brewing... a few light points began to expand within it. Suddenly, the sphere burst like a bubble, and the light within swelled into a human-sized orb that descended slowly to the base of the statue.

From this orb emerged three figures, human in form, with golden hair. Two wore silver armor, held long spears, and had wings on their backs. The leader, dressed in plain clothes and straw sandals, was spotless, with snow-white skin as beautiful as a woman’s, and eyes that sparkled like stars. It also had three pairs of exquisite white wings.

"Why have we rushed to the mortal world so suddenly?" one of the silver-armored figures asked.

The being in plain clothes calmly replied, "This is Father's will. He wishes for us to bring the sinner Noah back. If we succeed, there is another place we must go to fulfill a task."

"Noah... is he here?" the other silver-armored figure exclaimed in surprise.

"I don't know. Father suddenly gave me a divine revelation about this matter and provided the coordinates of this place..."Just then, a voice interrupted.

"An... an angel?!"

Behind them, the caretaker, who had rushed over, was so terrified that he dropped his phone. The six-winged angel, with its beautiful, ethereal form, floated toward the caretaker, barely touching the ground.

"My God... am I seeing things?"

The caretaker felt his worldview shattering as the angel approached him. The warm light radiating from the angel filled him with an unprecedented sense of reverence. In a daze, he asked, "Who... are you?"

"Gabriel."

The angel gently placed its hand on the caretaker's forehead, and in an instant, the man collapsed into unconsciousness, astonished.

Gabriel retracted its hand, then touched its own forehead before sending two beams of light into the foreheads of the silver-armored angels. "We have not walked the earth for many years. The world has changed rapidly, and the pollution is severe... Quickly familiarize yourselves with these memories to ease our movements," Gabriel said calmly.

"There are so many unpleasant odors... There is a scent of Hell here," one of the silver-armored angels frowned.

"It's demons," Gabriel said, his gaze piercing through layers of obstacles, scanning the city below Mount Christ. "But ignore them for now. Our priority is to capture Noah."

The angels quickly retracted their wings and armor, transforming into modern clothing with a mysterious power. However, their appearance, flawless as if sculpted, made them look like international models walking down a runway.

...

An older car was parked by the side entrance of the university campus, closer to the dormitories. In the car, Boston glanced at Hailey, who was trembling uncontrollably.

He knew well that Hailey wasn’t shaking from fear—on the contrary, this trembling was due to his barely suppressed anger. Hailey was a monster with violent tendencies lurking inside.

Boston sneered coldly, quietly gripping a concealed gun with one hand while placing a small knife on Hailey's leg with the other. Leaning in close to Hailey's ear, he whispered, "Go ahead... The one who’s always treated you like a puppet, controlling and threatening you, is right inside."

Hailey's gaze slowly shifted to Boston, bloodshot eyes resembling those of a man who hadn’t slept for days. He suddenly lifted the knife.

Boston tensed, his palm sweating as he clutched his hidden gun. But without a word, Hailey pushed the car door open and stepped out. Only then did Boston breathe a small sigh of relief.

To be honest, Hailey’s terrifying gaze had rattled him a bit. However, Boston quickly regained his composure, swiftly grabbed the car keys, and followed him.

His plan was simple: let Hailey kill Arnold. If someone else did the dirty work, the blame would fall on them, and the police wouldn’t come after him. Then, he could escape freely.

Of course, Boston still followed to ensure Hailey could finish the job. If not, he would have to do it himself.

...

Arnold returned late, having been stopped by a professor after the memorial. As an outstanding graduate, the professor was more than happy to offer him various kinds of help.

Arnold didn't mind and patiently discussed his future plans with the professor before finally thanking him and leaving.

Upon arriving at the dormitory, the dorm manager casually walked past Arnold, slipping him a note. Arnold read it on his way up the stairs: "The woman from room 403 went out twice today. The second time, she made a phone call at the payphone."

Arnold narrowed his eyes, tore up the note, and threw it into the trash. He paused briefly in front of room 403, put on a smile, and opened the door.

He heard the sound of water—someone was in the shower.

Arnold glanced around the room, walked over to the table, and picked up Caroline's phone, the one he had given her. He quickly dismantled it to check if the tracker was still in place, then reassembled it, sat down, and turned on the TV.

A moment later, Caroline came out of the bathroom, wearing a tank top and shorts, her hair still wet. Startled by Arnold’s presence, she asked, “When did you get back?”

“Just now. I saw you were in the bathroom, so I didn’t call you… You don’t usually shower this early.”

Caroline shrugged, grabbed a beer from the fridge, and casually said, “I worked out a bit and got sweaty… So, how was the meeting at the hall? Nothing happened, right?”

"Why would anything happen?" Arnold smiled at her.

Caroline nodded, leaning against the fridge, but didn’t approach him. "Good. If nothing happened... Do you want me to make you something to eat?"

"I already ate on my way back," Arnold replied, shaking his head.

Caroline nodded again.... Suddenly remembering what 403 had said, she gritted her teeth and walked towards Arnold.

She approached Arnold, casually placing the beer bottle on the table, and gently teased his cheek with her fingers.

Certain gestures between a man and a woman can easily convey intentions about what might happen next. Arnold didn’t speak; he simply closed his eyes, savoring the touch of Caroline's fingers.

He had no particular thoughts about what might happen next—if advancing their relationship could make Caroline more willing to reveal her hidden secrets, he didn’t mind spending a night of passion with her.

Of course, violence could be used to force the truth. However, Arnold found such methods crude. While coercion might yield the desired answers, it could also lead to deception.

After all, you can never be sure if a person who fears and hates you will speak the truth—those with hatred are more likely to lie or try to take you down with them.

"Has anyone ever told you how truly captivating you are?" Arnold slowly opened his eyes, placing his hand over Caroline's, caressing her fingers.

Caroline pulled his head closer, threading her fingers through his hair and gently massaging. "There were things we didn’t finish last time..."

"Is that so..." Arnold squinted, resting his face against her stomach. He had a guess about what they didn’t finish last time, knowing well about Hailey’s peculiar interests. It wasn’t strange that Hailey would be attracted to Caroline.

They began to embrace softly. Caroline pushed Arnold onto the couch, and just as he reached out to undo her clothes, she grabbed his hands, placing them on her chest, biting her lip, "Let me do it."

It was an incredibly seductive moment.

"Your heart is beating so fast," Arnold chuckled softly.

Caroline smiled faintly, leaned down, and slid her left hand under Arnold’s shirt, moving towards his chest, while her other hand slipped into the crevice of the sofa.

She whispered in his ear, "You seem so tired; just relax and enjoy..."

Arnold sighed contentedly, feeling her fingers rhythmically touch his skin, a sensation that was difficult to describe. Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through him, and his eyes widened in shock.

A mix of terror and disbelief flashed across his face!

As his body convulsed violently, Arnold passed out... Caroline straightened up, gently slapped his face, and after confirming he was completely unconscious, breathed a sigh of relief.

She glanced at the taser she had quietly retrieved from the sofa crevice, listening to the crackling sound of the electric current. She shivered, quickly turned it off, and stuffed it into her cleavage... The taser, which 403 had given her, fit perfectly.

With Arnold knocked out, Caroline stood up, wiped her face, and adjusted her hair. She hadn’t followed 403's instructions; knocking Arnold out was a spur-of-the-moment decision, but she hadn’t expected it to work so easily.

Thinking about how Arnold could wake up at any moment, Caroline shivered again. She hurriedly grabbed a bag, stuffing in a few things she thought would be useful.

"Are you kidding me? I’m not staying with you crazies any longer!" Caroline muttered angrily as she packed.

"What did I ever do? Since that day, I haven’t had a moment of peace! Neymar's death had nothing to do with me! Why are you after me? You killed Livia, fine, but why frame me... I’ve had enough! Screw you all!!"

Getting worked up, Caroline turned around and kicked and punched the unconscious Arnold. After venting, she took a deep breath and began rifling through his clothes.

Of course, she quickly found Arnold’s wallet. After slapping him once more, she opened it. "I’ll take this as compensation."

She had no money, and while Arnold’s wallet didn’t contain much, at least it was enough for a train ticket. Caroline had already made up her mind to get far away from this place tonight.

Who knows when that lunatic Hailey might switch back with Arnold?

Who knows if 403 can protect her?

Who knows when the vision she feared might come true... Caroline decided she wouldn’t play this dangerous game any longer. Being a fugitive was better than dying.

"I’ll just..." Caroline suddenly stopped her rant when she found something in Arnold’s wallet—her lost bank card, loaded with a huge sum of money!

After all the twists and turns, the card had ended up back in her hands. Caroline’s eyes lit up instantly, and she pressed the card to her lips, giving it a deep kiss.

"You’re the best!"

...

Outside the window, two transcendent beings silently observed the scene unfold. As Caroline kissed the bank card, Wolfgang couldn’t help but frown.

"God, how can such a vulgar woman possess the bloodline of a Dimensional Observer... I feel the malice of the world’s will against me." But Wolfgang quickly realized his mistake and looked at Noah beside him, saying, "Oh... I meant against you."

"The Creator’s work is never perfect."

Noah responded in a calm, emotionless voice, "Neither are we. You see her as foolish, greedy, and ignorant... but perhaps you’re seeing a reflection of your former self. It’s because you see traits you dislike, reminiscent of yourself at some point, that you feel disdain. It’s like being impatient with your own past foolishness."

Wolfgang shrugged. "Humans... Anyway, she’s the bride you chose. Why don’t you take her now?"

Noah shook his head. "The awakening of an observer is delicate. Any external interference could lead to failure. We just need to wait patiently and let her follow the path set for her. Fate... will guide her."

"What if she fails?" Wolfgang disagreed. "How can you be sure interference would lead to failure and not help her?"

"Unless we possess the same power as fate."